Triforce Of Comedy: epilogue
The Robot Gospel, Part 01101
I guess my Galaxy Brain thesis about comedy — and why I consider it one of the pieces of my Triforce Of Me — is that comedy should be a fun, joyous thing. It brings people together, and you shouldn’t use it to “punch down” — in fact the only punching should be the punchlines.
Laughing is one of the first expressions we have as infants. The other one is crying. Even before we’re able to form real thoughts, we know that we need to have — and crave for — attention, comfort, and connection from other people. And for me, comedy is one of the most interesting ways to do that.
I do believe that being able to laugh at yourself is an important aspect of humor, as well. Not taking yourself too seriously1. Knowing that most things in life are not dire, world ending catastrophes, and that you can let go of embarrassment and fear and shame. And a good laugh at yourself allows you to take control of your own narrative. It takes any potential power that someone else may be able to turn against you and transmutes it into a limp rubber chicken.
But if someone has no shame, then they aren’t going to be looking inward enough to discover something about themselves. The emperor that has no clothes has no shame to hide. That’s why I don’t think satire and irony have the same sting as they may have had pre-1990s, when it stopped being a fun-house mirror to hold up to the status quo to expose the hidden ugliness they refused to face, and instead became a facial recognition program granting people access to communities of like-minded misogynists, fascists, racists, and chuds.
There are enough jerks and assholes in the world, why ape their cruelty in an attempt at humor? If it’s to try to make a satirical point, you aren’t going to beat them at their own game. Irony is dead, and the CyberTruck is its shitty, rusting grave stone.
The reason that “the right” is often characterized as being bad at comedy, is that there’s no joy at the heart of those laughs. It’s all mockery. There are no standards being subverted, except for decorum. Doing and saying what you’re “not supposed to.”
And why are you “not supposed to?” Because it’s an abuse of power. It’s cruelty. It’s leveraging status against someone that has less or none. Again, it’s more about making someone else feel bad, than about being witty, clever, or silly. When you try to explain that kind of “joke,” that’s the base element it breaks down into.
It’s similar to Deep Canvasing, in that if you are trying to have someone explain their “joke” to you, you are having them pick apart where the humor is supposed to be coming from, just like having someone analyze their beliefs in Deep Canvasing. And the ultimate goal is to have them discover that they don’t really believe those things, and so then why cling to them?
You can tell any “joke” you want, but that doesn’t mean you’re owed a laugh. And if what you’re saying makes people think that you’re an asshole, it’s probably because Assholes say those kinds of things, so it’s not really the audience’s fault for thinking that, right?
Assholes put other people down, and the only reason people hang out with them is because they don’t want to be put down, or they want some backup for when they’re an asshole. Proximity to power. Strength in numbers. If you are putting someone down, then it looks like you have higher status.
Funny people make people laugh. People hang around with them because they make them feel good. It’s not about power or status — although they may try to speak truth to power using humor.
I just don’t think that using their type of “humor” against them really works. Master’s tools, and all...
-bcp
I don’t know if I would call these sources, per se, but these are the things that were floating around in the back of my head while I was being very pretentious about comedy:
Good One hasn’t come out with an episode in a couple of months, but it’s a magnificent document of the comedic process.
The Jackie And Laurie Show comes from two veterans of stand-up comedy who have seen it all, and have the insights, stories, and names of jerks (even though they won’t name them, ‘cause they still need to work) to back it up.
WTF With Marc Maron just had to be on this list2. How else are we supposed to find out who someone’s guys are"?
I’m going to pick up on the next piece of my Triforce Of Me in the new year. I don’t know if I want to put together a collection of my favorite new music from this year, in the meantime, though. I guess it depends on if I feel up to recording myself, because you know I love to play DeeJay.
Please put some kindness out into the world, everybody. Because there’s not going to be a lot to go around for the next couple years.
And yes, I understand the irony of talking seriously about all this stuff.
Bibliography? Podiography?